Sofia Isella arrives at the Roundhouse like a storm she can barely contain. Emerging from the shadows, backed by ominous electronic textures and silhouettes, she immediately cuts a striking figure. She paces furiously across the stage, hair hanging over her face, constantly tugging at her oversized clothes as though caught between wanting to tear them off and feeling trapped inside them. She leaps in the air and sings from risers placed at either side of the stage. Her fingers are haphazardly bound with elastic bands, while her face and arms are purposely dirtied. It’s uncomfortable, theatrical and utterly compelling.
Sofia Isella @ Roundhouse
That tension sits at the heart of the 21-year-old L.A. native’s music, and from the opening moments of Out In The Garden, the Camden crowd are completely invested. Fans sing every word back as she grabs a guitar, briefly holding it behind her head before playing, then throws herself onto the Roundhouse floor in a dramatic opening statement.
The electro-pop pulse of Hot Gum follows, and suddenly the venue feels less like a concert hall and more like a communal release. The crowd scream back every line, particularly the chant of “He’s a keeper, he’s a believer, he’s on the ground, on his knees in a theatre”, turning the song into something shared between artist and audience. By the time she reaches Josephine, violin in hand, Isella already has the room exactly where she wants it. She storms through the track before stepping to the very edge of the stage, soaking in the deafening response.
Sofia Isella @ Roundhouse
“London, how are you fuckin’ feeling?” she asks. The answer arrives in a roar as Cacao And Cocaine explodes into life. Isella immediately begins directing the room with the peculiar charisma that has become one of her trademarks. “Raise your hand if you have a hand,” she deadpans. “Raise the other one for shits and giggles.” Thousands of arms rise obediently. Within seconds she is darting between chaotic dancing, fierce vocals and screaming guitar lines, never standing still long enough for anyone to fully predict her next move.
Yet for all the chaos, Isella knows exactly how to manipulate atmosphere. Before Man Made, she pauses to issue a challenge. “London, I want you to be so … ugly tonight,” she says in her deep, dramatic drawl. “I want you to release all self-awareness of what your face is doing, do you understand me?” The crowd cheer their approval. The song that follows is dark, sparse and magnetic, its unsettling mood amplified by a vocal performance that feels simultaneously vulnerable and confrontational.
Muse continues the thread, but elevates it through pulsing beats and soaring melodies, while Isella punctuates the song with a wild guitar solo that sends screams echoing around the room. Star v and Dog’s Dinner deepen the intensity further, blending spoken-word passages, booming electronics and dramatic shifts in vocal range that keep the audience hanging on every moment.
One of the evening’s most touching scenes arrives midway through the set. After checking in with various sections of the crowd, Isella invites two audience members onto the stage. Then she spots a third fan dressed as a chicken and immediately decides the rules can bend. Soon Becca, Brooke and chicken-clad D’arcy are sitting around a riser with Isella positioned between them, all four holding hands. “Ok so, London, this next song I wrote while I was on a USA tour, maybe two years ago,” she says softly. The room immediately quietens. “And I would sing it during soundcheck of that tour and I couldn’t sing the last line of this song, I couldn’t get it out, because I was imagining all of you in the crowd singing it back to me.”
Sofia Isella @ Roundhouse
As Evergreen Soldier unfolds, accompanied only by Isella’s acoustic guitar, the scene feels remarkably intimate for a sold-out Roundhouse. By the final refrain, the crowd are doing exactly what she imagined all those years ago. That connection remains central to everything Isella does. Moments later she asks, “London, can I join you down there?” before stepping into the pit for All Of Human Knowledge Made Us Dumb, weaving through the fans pressed against the barricade and turning the performance into something communal rather than observational.
Then comes the night’s biggest surprise. “I don’t do this every night, and this particular night, I’ve never done this before,” she teases. “London, it is the last show on this tour.” The anticipation is instant. “I’m going to play two unreleased songs.” The resulting reaction threatens to lift the roof from the Roundhouse. The first, Product Of Public Domain, receives its live debut. Introducing it, Isella reveals it is barely a month old. “So, this first one, I have never played live before and I… I wrote it, like, a month ago, so it’s a little baby.”
Then, in classic Sofia Isella fashion, she explains the song through a wider exploration of her creative process. “I like to write songs that are related to each other. I like to write sister songs like Hot Gum/Sex Concept, I Can Be Your Mother/Muse and so on. I really wanted a sister song to Everybody Supports Women.” What follows is one of the evening’s most captivating performances. Armed with only an acoustic guitar, four rotating chords and a harmonica, she shifts effortlessly between whispered observations and soaring melody.
The second new song, Vinegar, finds her seated at the upright piano. “Okay, I have one more for you London. This song is also about one month old.” The song grows from near silence into something urgent and haunting, Isella repeatedly returning to the devastating refrain, “I use my beauty as a weapon. When I want a home. If you want reproduction, it’s cause I feel unknown.”
Sofia Isella @ Roundhouse
The emotional intensity barely has time to settle before another surprise arrives. “Tonight is a very full-circle, emotional night for me,” she says. As she reflects on opening at the Roundhouse for British musician Tom Odell two years earlier, her admiration becomes obvious. “On top of being ridiculously talented, like absolutely ridiculously talented, he was incredibly kind.” Moments later Odell walks onto the stage to a thunderous reception. The resulting performance of his piano ballad Black Friday is beautifully understated. Odell remains at the piano while Isella leans against it, eventually lifting her violin to provide an aching conclusion that perfectly captures the warmth she has just described.
Tom Odell with Sofia Isella @ Roundhouse
The final third of the set showcases every aspect of Isella’s artistic identity. The spoken-word urgency of Above The Neck gives way to the instrumental beauty of The Well, performed alongside her violin teacher Volkan. Then come the absurd chicken noises that herald The Chicken Is Naked And Afraid, a reminder that however serious her themes become, humour is never far away. That spontaneity is evident again when a fan requests Unattractive. “I have not rehearsed this so this is going to be a fascinating experience,” she laughs. “Do you wanna do it?” The crowd’s answer is immediate, and moments later she is singing the unscripted tune directly to fans from the barricade.
Sofia Isella @ Roundhouse
Later, looking out across the packed venue, she reflects on one of the more unexpected aspects of her audience. “London, you as a crowd have surprised me,” she says. “One of the ways that you’ve really surprised me is how many grown men come to my shows. I thought I scared you off a long time ago, but here you are stuffed to the brim with bravery.” The line earns huge laughter before giving way to one of the evening’s most powerful introductions.
“When I sing this next song, I like to imagine that I am singing it in defence of somebody in the crowd,” she says before Everybody Supports Women. “So if you feel you need defending tonight, take this next song for yourself.” It is a perfect summary of what makes Isella such a fascinating performer. For all the darkness, theatricality and chaos, there is an unmistakable sense of empathy running through everything she does.
As Us And Pigs, The Doll People, Sex Concept, Orchestrated, Wet, Verboten and I Looked The Future In The Eyes, It’s Mine drive the show towards its conclusion, the Roundhouse feels entirely hers. She tells us of how the overturning of Roe vs. Wade drives this music, these lyrics. And it hits hard. A final return to Hot Gum sends the crowd into one last frenzy as Isella floats amoung us.
Sofia Isella @ Roundhouse
On the final night of her tour, Sofia Isella demonstrates exactly why her rise has felt so inevitable. She is part poet, part rock star, part performance artist, multi-instrumentalist, and entirely herself. Her words make us think, feel deeply, and drive a want for a better society. More importantly, she possesses that rare ability to make a venue full of thousands feel as though she is speaking directly to each individual within it. Tonight, the Roundhouse isn’t simply hosting Sofia Isella. For two hours, it belongs to her.
Live review and Photography of Sofia Isella @ Roundhouse, Camden by Kalpesh Patel. on 4th June 2026.
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